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Woman faces court for 'damaging' truck with washable ink at arms fair Woman faces court for ‘damaging’ armoured vehicle with washable ink at arms fair
(35 minutes later)
A 28-year-old woman will appear in court in London charged with damaging an armoured military vehicle with a felt-tip pen.A 28-year-old woman will appear in court in London charged with damaging an armoured military vehicle with a felt-tip pen.
Vyara Glaser, 28, from Poplar, used a washable marker to write “arms tested on children” on the battlefield truck, which was entering the Defence & Security Equipment International arms fair at the ExCel Centre in September.Vyara Glaser, 28, from Poplar, used a washable marker to write “arms tested on children” on the battlefield truck, which was entering the Defence & Security Equipment International arms fair at the ExCel Centre in September.
Glaser, who has no previous convictions, was seized by police, arrested and held in custody for seven hours, then charged with criminal damage over the protest. She is set to appear at Thames Magistrates Court on Friday at 10am. Glaser, who has no previous convictions, was seized by police, arrested and held in custody for seven hours, then charged with criminal damage over the protest. She is set to appear at Thames magistrates court at 10am on Friday.
Her lawyer, Raj Chada, says the prosecution is not in the public interest. “My client is a passionate advocate for world peace and is greatly saddened by the suffering taking place around the world as a result of wars enabled by the arms trade,” he said. Her lawyer, Raj Chada, said the prosecution was not in the public interest. “My client is a passionate advocate for world peace and is greatly saddened by the suffering taking place around the world as a result of wars enabled by the arms trade,” he said.
“Many of the weapons exhibited at DSEI end up in regimes notorious for their abuses of human rights. Indeed, there have been breaches of UK arms legislation in at least three of the last four DSEI exhibitions and not once has any exhibitor or organiser been prosecuted. Yet Vyara is being prosecuted for writing on a tank in washable ink.“Many of the weapons exhibited at DSEI end up in regimes notorious for their abuses of human rights. Indeed, there have been breaches of UK arms legislation in at least three of the last four DSEI exhibitions and not once has any exhibitor or organiser been prosecuted. Yet Vyara is being prosecuted for writing on a tank in washable ink.
“The writing was wiped off the tank within the hour; yet my client alleges she was ‘rugby tackled’ by the arresting officer, dragged and thrown off the tank and held in custody for seven hours. “The writing was wiped off the tank within the hour; yet my client alleges she was rugby tackled by the arresting officer, dragged and thrown off the tank and held in custody for seven hours.
“The fact that the police are taking such a heavy handed approach to peace campaigners is completely disproportionate and a waste of police time.” “The fact that the police are taking such a heavy-handed approach to peace campaigners is completely disproportionate and a waste of police time.”
The DSEI arms fair, held every other year in London’s Docklands area, brings together weapons makers and military buyers from across the world, including many from regimes notorious for human-rights abuses and the use of child soldiers. The DSEI arms fair, held every other year in the Docklands area of London, brings together weapons makers and military buyers from around the world, including many from regimes notorious for human rights abuses and the use of child soldiers.
In 2013, two exhibitors, one French and one Chinese, were thrown out for after human-rights campaigners exposed them for exhibiting illegal torture equipment, including leg irons and electric stun batons. In 2013, two exhibitors, one French and one Chinese, were thrown out after human rights campaigners exposed them for exhibiting illegal torture equipment, including leg irons and electric stun batons.
DSEI’s guidelines specifically ban exhibitors from marketing “leg irons, gang chains, shackles” and “electric-shock batons ... stun guns and electric-shock dart guns”. However, organisers only took action after the issue was raised in Parliament by Caroline Lucas, the Green party MP for Brighton Pavilion. DSEI’s guidelines specifically ban exhibitors from marketing “leg irons, gang chains, shackles”, “electric-shock batons” or “stun guns and electric-shock dart guns”. However, organisers only took action after the issue was raised in Parliament by Caroline Lucas, the Green party MP.